Speaking engagements are a critical piece of any public relations campaign. They allow an author to reach potential readers; a CEO to reach possible investors and customers, a startup entrepreneur to reach investors, analysts, the media, and customers. Speaking engagements help build brand identity. It seems everybody is taking to the speaking circuit or have hopes to do so at some point. That is where media interviews play an essential role in helping to secure speaking engagements and increasing the desirability to book a speaker.

Organizations receive hundreds to thousands of solicitations for speakers a year. And that isn’t just major speaking opportunities before national organizations or trade shows. This includes speaking before small local civic and business organizations. Planners for organizations are deluged with speakers. How then can a speaker stand out?

The answer is by making themselves more desirable than the other potential speakers. This is where media interviews come into play. If a meeting planner is given the choice between a speaker with no media interviews or one who can boast that they appeared on CNBC, CNN, or even local media, who do you think the meeting planner will book? The latter of course.

The fact that a speaker has appeared in the media makes them more marketable to the organization. The association or civic group can advertise that they have a speaker who has appeared in the following media outlets. That allows them to market to members and the public who want to see someone who has appeared in the media. The media interviews give the speaker extra credibility in the eyes of the meeting planners and the potential audience. Sometimes a meeting planner will see or hear a speaker during a media interview and based on that appearance book the speaker.

Speaking engagements are becoming more competitive and elusive to secure. A speaker needs every advantage in securing them. Media interviews in addition to being critical in branding also provide the speaker with an extra advantage in securing a speaking engagement.